Inga affinis

[Gtlevine]

This is another tree I am looking to find. Inga affinis is the most well suited species of the genus of Ice Cream Bean tree's for growing in San Diego. If anyone has a source of this tree, please let me know.

Thank you,

Gary

[fastfeat]

Gary--

Do you want plants or seed to grow your own?

I may know someone in Corona who has some young trees. I'll see if there's seed at Fullerton Arboretum as well.

[epicure3]

The SD Zoo grows several of these. You might try calling their horticulturalist to find out where they got them. Also, someone else on the board is growing them. Do a search and see if they can tell you where they got them.

[Gtlevine]

Definately looking for a young tree I can get planted this year. I would appreciate if you can check if someone has them.

Gary

Gary--

Do you want plants or seed to grow your own?

I may know someone in Corona who has some young trees. I'll see if there's seed at Fullerton Arboretum as well.

[MattyB]

Gary, how is this different from Inga edulis? Inga edulis grows great here and the seeds are super easy to germinate, often sprouting inside the bean already. I think I have some seeds in a community pot. You're welcome to have one if you don't have any luck finding a plantable I. affinis tree. Inga edulis grows fast and in two years you should have a 6 footer at least.

[Gtlevine]

Gary, how is this different from Inga edulis? Inga edulis grows great here and the seeds are super easy to germinate, often sprouting inside the bean already. I think I have some seeds in a community pot. You're welcome to have one if you don't have any luck finding a plantable I. affinis tree. Inga edulis grows fast and in two years you should have a 6 footer at least.

Thanks Matt, the tropical tree book of San Diego says Affinns is the most cold tolerant and best suited to San Diego. I'm not sure what edulis is, or if its a synominous name for Affinis.

Gary

[aussiearoids]

Gary there is much confusion about what is actually Inga edulis . Any Inga growing in Australia was called edulis and it is only recently some sorting out of names has been done . BEWARE some of these trees are enormous and can be very weedy . Seem to grow from damaged roots and are very messy . Especially the species with the square cross section pods[that is most likely act. I affinis]. The ones with the longer twisted round cross section pods seem to be sparser and more managable and make a great canopy tree that actually improves the soil quality .This is the true I edulis I think ,, bpdqm , new acronym I just made up = but please don't quote me !!

btw there are supposed to be nearly 800 different Inga spp

Edited March 30, 2010 by aussiearoids

[MattyB]

Gary,

I just noticed today that I have an I. edulis sprout popping out of the soil. If I still have it when you make it by, and you still need one, you're welcome to it.

[fastfeat]

Gary--

I think that there are at least a couple of different species growing here in SoCal; I'm not positive of any of their correct IDs. I don't want to say that their lack of positive IDs is moot, but if you start with seed from a CA-grown tree, I don't think you'll have any hardiness issues in SD Co.

Biggest tree I've seen is one at Fullerton Arboretum that's probably 45' tall, very vigorous. Another smaller tree of a different species is also there in the fruit grove. Both seed regularly.

I talked to my buddy, and he sold the couple of trees (whichever species they were). I haven't had a chance to get up to Fullerton to procure any seeds yet either.

[Palms1984]

This is another tree I am looking to find. Inga affinis is the most well suited species of the genus of Ice Cream Bean tree's for growing in San Diego. If anyone has a source of this tree, please let me know.

Thank you,

Gary

Quail Botanical Gardens (now San Diego Botanical Gardens) always has Inga edulis - Ice Cream Beans for sale very cheaply (4 or 5 foot plants for around $10.00 - $15.00) I purchased my tree from Quail B. G. many years ago

The reason they have so many available for sale...is that they have some very large trees which have hundreds of seedlings growing under them.

[Gtlevine]

Thanks, I found one at Exotica in Vista.

Gary

This is another tree I am looking to find. Inga affinis is the most well suited species of the genus of Ice Cream Bean tree's for growing in San Diego. If anyone has a source of this tree, please let me know.

Thank you,

Gary

Quail Botanical Gardens (now San Diego Botanical Gardens) always has Inga edulis - Ice Cream Beans for sale very cheaply (4 or 5 foot plants for around $10.00 - $15.00) I purchased my tree from Quail B. G. many years ago

The reason they have so many available for sale...is that they have some very large trees which have hundreds of seedlings growing under them.

[MattyB]

Stake 'em real good until they get as fat as your leg Gary (OK you're skinny, maybe Bill's leg). I think their cloud forest habitat dosen't require them to grow very deep or aggressive roots. All 3 of mine blew over this Winter. They were uprighted, staked and are growing back with no problems.

[Palms1984]

Stake 'em real good until they get as fat as your leg Gary (OK you're skinny, maybe Bill's leg). I think their cloud forest habitat dosen't require them to grow very deep or aggressive roots. All 3 of mine blew over this Winter. They were uprighted, staked and are growing back with no problems.

MattyB:

You're correct. This tree doesn't like high winds. Many of the large trees in my neighborhood were badly affected by the strong El Niño storms this year. Even my tree in a protected spot had some of its leaves stripped from the branches.

[amazondk]

Stake 'em real good until they get as fat as your leg Gary (OK you're skinny, maybe Bill's leg). I think their cloud forest habitat dosen't require them to grow very deep or aggressive roots. All 3 of mine blew over this Winter. They were uprighted, staked and are growing back with no problems.

Matt,

I don´t believe that the inga edulis necessarily grows in native habitat in cloud forests. From what I read they are native to amazonia and found all over the place here. There are several types of inga grown by people and they sprout up all over as well. The native forest composition has many types of inga in it. They important food sources for animals including monkeys. I came across a variety the other day with small 6 inch beans which was quite good. There are aproximately 300 types of inga native to Brazil.

dk

[MattyB]

I read the article in the IPS Palms about Ceroxylon and how the Inga Edulis were growing side by side in the same fields. It looked like the type I'm growing but of course I can't be sure since there's so many species. I do notice that mine appreciate the Winter and Spring and show beautiful red leaf flushes during this time of year. Summer and our hot dry Fall they just sorta hang on.

[fastfeat]

Stake 'em real good until they get as fat as your leg Gary (OK you're skinny, maybe Bill's leg). I think their cloud forest habitat dosen't require them to grow very deep or aggressive roots. All 3 of mine blew over this Winter. They were uprighted, staked and are growing back with no problems.

Shouldn't really need much staking; they're not weak-rooted, but can be top-heavy. I suspect that if they blew out, they probably had circling roots. This is a common problem with fast-growing trees that don't get shifted quickly enough in the nursery.

[epicure3]

So, how big do these trees get? Can you prune them to remain smallish?

[MattyB]

Fast,

I grew two of these from seed and they were planted small, the other was a 24" box that Len gave me. They all blew over. You're absolutely right that they're top heavy, evergreen, and in my wind prone area those Winter winds just got the best of them. My soil is only about 12" - 18" deep though, so I assume that the roots didn't get a chance to anchor into the rock yet, even though they've been planted for several years.

John,

They prune great. Their spreading habit allows you to top and prune as needed and they'll form a nice canopy at a lower point for you.

The new leaves flush beautifully.

[amazondk]

Matty,

You are likely right that since there are so many varieties of inga the one in the cloud forest is a bit different from our local variety here. The ones I see here do not have any red to the young leaves. They stay consistantly green. Attached is a picture of a small one that sprung up at my place in the country. I do not think it is much over a year old. The limbs are very brittle and break easy on these trees. The trees that I have popping up on their own frequently are the inga and the cashew. I cut some down and keep others.

dk